Zimbabwe company stories that made headlines in 2022

The ones that left

Standard Chartered Zimbabwe announced in April that it was quitting Zimbabwe, together with six other markets, ending 130 years in the country, and sparking quarrels about the country’s business climate.

Russia’s Vi Holdings exited Great Dyke Investments, leaving the future of what is supposed to be Zimbabwe’s biggest platinum project at risk. The company cited Western sanctions on Russia for its decision to leave. Kuvimba, the local partner, took up the remaining 50% and is pondering what to do with the massive hole – financial and geological – left by GDI.

We like fights, of the corporate sort

Admit it. We all like a brawl, at least of the corporate sort.

Few do this competition thing better than Innscor. The company invested US$71 million in expansion projects in 2021-2022, and put down US$56 million more for the coming year. One such area of expansion is a brewery. The company launched Nyathi, a sorghum beer brand. This brews up a nice bar brawl with Delta’s Chibuku in 2023.

Competition brewing….

The first bottles of a new beer, Nyathi, roll off the production line at ProBottlers, marking Innscor’s entry into the beer market. Can it eventually challenge Delta’s dominant Chibuku Super?

Delta itself flexed muscles in its fizzy drinks war with Varun, saying it had won back market share from the Pepsi bottler. Varun isn’t stopping the snapping, signing a solar deal with DPA to keep its plant running and expanding its trusted network of merchandise carts – including distributing carts to the makorokoza association.

Simbisa Brands, the country’s biggest fast foods company, added 27 new outlets in the past year and announced that it plans a further 45 as part of a US$23 million expansion. Rivals, including KFC, finally stopped being boring and started to show some fight in them, with a slightly more aggressive rollout. May feathers fly.

Comings and goings

Anthony Mandiwanza left his post as CEO of Dairibord. He had headed the company since 1996, the year Macarena was the top song in the world and Penny Penny released Yogo Yogo. FD Mercy Ndoro took over as CEO of the dairy producer.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed Tafadzwa Chinamo as the new CEO of the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency. Chinamo is a respected former manager who headed the financial markets regulator for a decade. He replaced Doug Munatsi, who died in 2021.-NewZWire

(214 VIEWS)